The Feng Shui of House Numbers

Among feng shui enthusiasts, there is some controversy over the subject of address numbers for a house. In the serious practice of feng shui in your house, every detail is considered important, and so even the minor detail of what street address number is placed on your house is considered important in a serious feng shui practice. There are those practitioners who go so far as to move to a different address altogether in an effort to avoid numbers deemed as "bad feng shui." Others would argue that a street address is an artificial, even imaginary assignment that does not approach the level of seriousness of other feng shui practices.

Much of this discussion focuses on the number 4, based mostly on a misunderstanding of the cultural interpretation of the number.

The Feng Shui of House Numbers?

Can one reasonably say that there are bad and good feng shui house numbers? Furthermore, how would you deal with house numbers that you consider to be bad feng shui?

Let's start with the big picture.

Once you connect deeper to the energy of your home, you begin to understand how the feng shui of your bedroom, for example, is connected to the state of your health; or how good feng shui at the main entrance strengthens the energy of the whole house. While it is very important to pay attention to details when improving the feng shui of your home, it is equally important to stay calm and reasonable when dealing with highly misunderstood feng shui concepts such as the feng shui of house numbers.

To believe that specific house numbers can bring you trouble is probably going beyond the goals of reasonable feng shui practice, though this is not to say that numbers are not meaningful and important

Practical Numerology

The best way to understand the pure energy of numbers is by referring to numerology, which is the ancient study of the energy and mystical significance of numbers. Once you explore several good numerology resources, you will start seeing similarities between them and understand more about the energy or mystique of any specific number, or a combination of numbers. You will also understand that each culture has had slightly different interpretations of the practical and mystical meaning of numbers.

The energy of numbers, as is true of the energy of everything else in your life, can help you develop an understanding your own development and growth. Paying attention to the meaning of numbers can be helpful if you are willing to listen to it with the intelligence of your own heart.

When applying these principles of numerology to a feng-shui practice, first, do your best to sense and understand the meaning of numbers 0 to 9. Then, add the numbers of your home address to reach a single digit number to be interpreted for its energy meaning.

It is also important to avoid interpreting the meaning of numbers directly or too literally. For example, if your house number is 313, the digits of which add up to 7. Do not interpret this as meaning "staying alone forever," simply because one of the tendencies of number 7 is for solitude.

In other words, interpreting numbers must be done with some practical wisdom. Words can only express that much, and beyond that, you have to sense the energy behind the words.

Here is a very basic vocabulary for interpreting the energy and meaning of numbers:

0 - void, nothingness, potential

1 - the unobstructed flow of energy, new beginnings

2 - balance, choice, cooperation

3 - creativity, family, self-expression

4 - stability, grounding, security

5 - change, resourcefulness, adventure

6 - calm, patience

7 - contemplation, self-evaluation, solitude

8 - infinity, abundance, success in business

9 - highest number, accomplishment, attainment

In terms of feng shui, the energy of numbers tends to get slightly misinterpreted because the traditional interpretation of numbers is based on the way the numbers sound in the Chinese language. For example, number 4 is considered very unlucky because it sounds like the word for death in Chinese.

Practically speaking, though, unless the pronunciation of the number 4 sounds like the word for death in your own language, why would you worry about having the number as part of the street address for your home? An experienced feng shui consultant will understand these nuances and can read specific energy patterns from the combination of your house numbers.

In the end, it is all about energy, and you can start creating auspicious energy (Sheng Chi) in your home or office the moment you commit to it.